


Roommates

by Halfling



Category: Captain America (2011), Iron Man (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-10
Updated: 2011-08-10
Packaged: 2017-10-22 11:46:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/237683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Halfling/pseuds/Halfling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alternate universe where Steve Rogers and Tony Stark share an apartment. And a couch.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Roommates

**Author's Note:**

> Rated Explicit just to be safe. I tried to limit the angst on this one, I promise it's all fluff by the end.

It was almost 9 when Steve got back to the apartment. All he wanted to do was to crash on the couch, maybe read the paper a bit, then head to bed. He had an early meeting with Fury he had to get to in the morning, so he planned an early night. That plan was destined to be interrupted. The sight that greeted him as he walked in the door was not what he was expecting to see. Tony Stark was sprawled, naked except for a watch and socks, across the very couch Steve had been planning to collapse in. "Oh." Tony said. "Hey you weren't supposed to be home for another..." he glanced at the watch, winced, and switched tactics, "You're late, what gives?"

Steve quickly shut the door, silently blessing whatever luck it was that none of the other tenants were in the hall at that moment. "Tony, what are you even..." he began.

"I can explain."

Steve shrugged off his bag, letting it drop to the floor. He crossed his arms and gave Tony an expectant look.

"Okay, so I can't exactly explain. But you know, maybe that's really the beauty of our friendship, because we trust each other not to need explanations for things that are clearly not explainable, and, hey-"

Steve rolled his eyes and threw up his hands before leaving Tony to ramble and fleeing to the kitchen. It was time for a change of plans: first, scotch, then, burn the couch. With or without Tony still on it.

Tony followed him into the kitchen. "...but if we're being honest with ourselves it's not the worst thing you've caught me doing, and-"

"Tony!" There was something in Steve's tone that shut him up. "Please, I don't have the patience for this right now, please." He took a swig straight from the bottle of single malt, which was significantly more empty than he remembered it being yesterday. "And please put some clothes on?"

"Right. Of course." Tony made an awkward exit to his room. When he heard the door shut, Steve set the liquor down and braced his hands on the sink to catch his breath. His heart was racing, like it always did when Tony did something like this. Which was happening more and more frequently as time went on. "Why on earth did I agree to this?" he wondered, not for the first time that week.

When they'd first talked of becoming roommates, it seemed perfect. They met at the gym where they both liked to work out. Steve was a workaholic trying to get noticed at the law firm where he spent all his time between work outs. Tony was a trust fund baby trying to avoid work by avoiding his father. They had so very little in common with each other that it was almost astounding but they had become fast friends, and despite Tony's more recent attempts to prove the contrary, they made good roommates. There were other reasons behind everything, of course-reasons why Steve would always put up with Tony, reasons why he had allowed himself to be talked into getting this apartment together in the first place even though he could barely afford his half of the rent. But he didn't like to dwell on those.

"...and honestly if I didn't know better I'd say you enjoy it anyway. Oh." Tony walked out mid sentence, stopping only once he saw the look Steve was giving him.

For a moment, the look was exasperation, then guilt, then exhaustion. Finally, Steve laughed. Out of shear awkwardness, Tony joined in moments later. They laughed until they couldn't breath.

Steve was beginning to suspect Tony had already had enough of the scotch today, but he poured them both generous helpings of it anyway, and they collapsed on the couch. "Rough day at work?" Tony began.

"You have no idea, Fury has been riding me all day." Tony choked on his scotch and unsuccessfully tried to suppress a laugh. "What? Oh. Really, Tony?"

"Oh, come on, you couldn't pick any number of other ways to phrase that?"

"It was the first that come to mind!"

"You know, you asked me once how I knew right away you were gay? Well, saying things like that aren't helping."

Steve sputtered, "But, I wasn't being literal!"

Tony laughed and clapped Steve on the shoulder. "I know, I just love to fluster you."

"Yeah, I've noticed." Steve finished his drink and stuck out his lip. He knew he was being immature, but decided to blame the alcohol.

"But darling, you're just so precious when you pout!" Tony finished his own drink and transferred their glasses to the coffee table. "Like now, look at that little lip!" He moved closer and reached out to poke Steve's pouted lip but before he could Steve pulled away and stuck his tongue out.

"I will have you know I do not pout!" Steve crossed his arms, unintentionally making it more obvious that he was, in fact, pouting.

"Of course not, dear." Tony grinned like a cat and crept even closer until they were almost sharing one couch cushion. "But what would you call what you're doing right now?"

"I would call this valiantly resisting the rakish charms of a man who has clearly had too much to drink by going to bed." He made to get up and make good on that promise but was stopped by Tony's firm grip on his shoulder.

"But you didn't even ask about my day yet!"

"Now who's pouting?"

"I was just teasing you! Come on, I promise to behave, just sit a bit longer and we can have a nice conversation like normal people, please?"

Steve suddenly remembered why he had agreed so willingly to move in with Tony. He could never resist him when he looked at him with those huge eyes and said "please." "Okay, I give in. How was your day, Tony?"

"I'm glad you asked! Pepper broke up with me today."

Steve hadn't seen that coming. "What? I'm so sorry, what happened?"

"Oh you know, the usual, I'm being immature, I'm letting my father down, I'm wasting my life, what else is new?" Steve put an arm on Tony's arm and said nothing. Tony and Pepper had been in an off-and-on relationship for the past few months. They were crazy about each other but after a while Pepper would always get fed up with Tony and break up with him for a few days or a week before giving in to his promises to change and returning to him. He would always try to become the man she wanted for a while but something always drove him away. Steve suspected the rift between him and his father had something to do with it but didn't know how to bring that up with Tony. "And you know the worst part? She's not wrong. And something tells me she won't take me back this time."

"What makes you think that? She always takes you back!"

"Well, she kind of told me she wouldn't. Not ever. I think she means it."

"She might mean it now, but you don't know about tomorrow. It wouldn't be the first time that she-"

Tony interrupted him, "She quit today."

"She quit?"

"She turned in her two weeks notice, she won't be my dad's secretary anymore."

"That doesn't mean-"

"It does mean. She's moving away. Says she can't stand being where everything reminds her of us. And you know what? Good for her. She deserves better than me anyway."

"That's not true! Anyone would be lucky to have someone like you in their life."

Tony suddenly gave Steve a stare with such uncharacteristic seriousness that it gave him goosebumps. "Do you regret moving in with me?"

"No, not at all!" Tony looked skeptical. "Really. You keep my life...interesting." They both smiled, remembering the naked couch incident of just an hour ago.

"Well I'm glad to hear you say that." Steve didn't recognize the look on Tony's face. "Mind if I make it more interesting?"

"How do you mean?" Steve was suddenly suspicious, thinking again of how he'd found Tony when he walked in earlier.

"I just mean-would you not look at me like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like I'm going to do something stupid!"

"Well are you? I don't know what you're talking about!"

"I'm not, I mean I am, but not, oh screw this." Tony grabbed Steve's face and pulled him into a rough kiss.

Steve pulled away first. "Tony, what? You just. But I. And you're not. I thought." Tony covered Steve's lips with a finger.

"And you say I talk to much. Look, you're tired, I'm horny, let's just fuck, okay? Please?"

There was that look again, and the "please." "Like I could say no if I wanted to?"

Slowly they stripped off clothing, lips and fingers exploring the newly exposed skin. Tony pulled out lube from seemingly nowhere; Steve made a mental note to ask him about it later, and before he knew it Tony was inside him, filling him hot and and iron hard. When he came, it was too soon, but Tony followed shortly after, and for a while, they just laid on the couch in silence, even though with the two of them there was barely enough room.

Finally, Steve couldn't take the quiet anymore. "Hey Tony?"

"Yeah, Steve."

"What now?"

Tony paused before answering, "Now, we go to bed. Don't you have a meeting in the morning or something?"

Steve cringed. "Yeah, I do, I totally forgot. Shit, what time is it?"

"Time for bed! Come on, come on, I'll help you up." They got off the couch with as much grace as two tipsy and exhausted men can get off a couch.

Steve stood outside the door to his bedroom. "So why were you naked before, when I came in?"

Tony looked embarrassed, which was odd for him. "Actually, I had been planning to greet you naked and ask if you wanted to fuck then, but you looked so annoyed and I kind of lost my nerve."

Steve smiled, "Yes, you definitely make my life interesting. Goodnight, Tony."

"Goodnight, Steve."

It was the best either of them had slept in a long time.


End file.
